Vice Provost for Research

 

Overseeing all aspects of the research enterprise at WPI, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research ensures that the university continues to reach proposal development and funding award goals while fostering and monitoring transparent and ethical research practices among faculty, staff, and partners. Faculty are supported through internal grants and seed funding mechanisms to explore new ideas and collaborations and through high-tech instrumentation to enable cutting-edge research. 

 

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"WPI's world-class research enterprise continues to see significant growth. In the past five years, our funding has increased by 140 percent as our research-active faculty members submit and win increasingly larger proposal funding. WPI continues in make purposeful and strategic gains in attracting outstanding faculty members, developing an internal funding programs to encourage collaboration, promoting valuable resources for faculty and staff, and reinforcing our existing campus infrastructure to support our research across WPI.”

Bogdan Vernescu 
Vice President and Vice Provost for Research and Innovation

 

CONTACT
Location: Boynton Hall

Government Shutdown Information

Funding for government agencies is set to expire at midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30. Congress must enact appropriations bills that establish discretionary spending levels or agree to pass a continuing resolution to temporarily fund federal government agencies. If Congress fails to enact the required appropriations bills, the lapse in enacted appropriations will necessitate a partial government shutdown, halting nonessential functions until the funding bills are passed.

Faculty working on federally sponsored projects that are already ongoing are not expected to experience major issues during a shutdown. However, federal agencies cannot issue new grants or contracts, or renew existing projects, during a shutdown. Agencies also will not be able to provide assistance during a shutdown. Employees at the agencies will not be available to answer phone calls, respond to emails or update informational resources.

Contingency Plans by Agency

Historically, a week prior to a shutdown, federal agencies publish contingency plans for how they will operate in the event of a lapse of appropriations. These plans traditionally were posted together on the OMB website, but the current OMB site states each agency's website will exclusively host the contingency plan for the agency. Contingency plans lay out what functions will continue to be provided and which federal workers must report to work because they are deemed "essential." OMB directed agencies to update their contingency plans in August 2025, noting that plans would be published once approved by OMB.

As of today's date, a few updated agency contingency plans have been published, although more are expected in the coming days:

How Research at WPI May be Impacted

A federal government shutdown can influence university research operations, though its implications on WPI research will depend largely on the length of a shutdown and the corresponding guidance provided by the affected federal agencies We are monitoring the situation and will update you via email messages.

 

Proposal Preparation, Submission and Processing
  • New funding opportunities (announcements, notices of funding opportunity or solicitations) will not be issued.
  • Faculty are advised that stated sponsor deadline dates that occur during the lapse in appropriations remain valid unless the agencies post notices of modification on their websites.
  • Faculty should continue to submit their proposals on time to OSP.
  • Proposals will not be processed by the agencies until normal agency operations resume, and there will be related delays in agency customer communications.
  • Peer review panels and study sections will not be held, but meetings will be rescheduled once agency operations resume at the agencies.
  • Agency responses to any inquiries received regarding upcoming deadlines, including proposal preparation, will be deferred until normal operations resume.
  • Faculty may not be able to contact their project officers or agency representatives at agencies.
  • Agency account and credential assignment and management functions may be delayed.
New and Continuing Award Issuance or Extensions
  • New grants, contracts or cooperative agreements from agencies will not be awarded or released until normal operations resume.
  • During a lapse in appropriations, agencies cannot authorize costs exceeding available award amounts, obligate additional funds to cover such costs or authorize no-cost extensions.
  • No-cost extensions will not be granted during this period.
  • Grant and award continuations will not be awarded until normal operations resume.
  • Researchers should continue to perform project activities and incur necessary costs to maintain project progress. However, if the shutdown becomes extended, costs should be closely monitored in the event award funding is reduced or significantly delayed once operations resume.
Post-Award Administration
  • Researchers should contact their research administrator with questions about fund availability for active awards.
  • Absent an official notice to stop performing work (stop-work order), researchers should continue to perform under contracts or cooperative agreements for work where sufficient funds were obligated and drawn prior to a lapse in appropriations, and where performance does not require government support, such as quality assurance oversight, prior approval or other actions required of agency staff.
  • If a research project team receives a stop-work notification, the notice should be immediately forwarded to OSP.
  • Principal investigators will be able to submit annual/interim reports, final project reports and project outcomes reports in agency systems (e.g., Research.gov, eRA Commons, PAMS) and should do so in accordance with project due dates.

Tracking Federal Changes 2025

 

It's Official!

WPI has been designated an R1 institution and joined the ranks of the nation’s top-tier research institutions in a new classification of American colleges and universities published by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The R1 designation, which identifies WPI as one of 187 institutions with “very high research spending and doctorate production,” caps a decade of efforts to expand research and innovation at the university. 

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Research at WPI

Today, the WPI research enterprise comprises $62 million in annual research expenditures, supports a diverse range of research institutes and centers and advances interdisciplinary research in these key focus areas:

WPI’s research contributes discoveries with broad impact. WPI has patented and licensed new technologies and ideas at an ever-increasing rate, expanding work that benefits society, improves lives, and creates jobs while strengthening the revenue stream for the university.   

We drive and support the Research Enterprise, increase impact and visibility, and provide crucial resources for our researchers.

Resources for Researchers

Find Seed Funding
Find External Funding
Get Proposal Development Support
Submit your Proposal
Manage your Award
Submit an Invention Disclosure

 

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$71.6M

in research expenditures (FY 2024)

433

research proposals submitted (2024)

70+

patents issued since 2016

Institutes & Centers
Research
Employers & Partners

Calendar

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SHARP Series Session 3: Budgeting
Clock Icon of clock 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. - Unity Hall
In person, 90-min, hands-on training session designed to help you learn what a justifiable budget is, understand WPI’s policies regarding research proposal budgeting, and how to use WPI’s templates to help your research proposal.

News

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George C. Gordon Library 

Find rich digital collections of research and information to inform and guide your literature reviews and proposals in the Gordon Library. Take advantage of expert consultation and tools for identifying grant opportunities and literature, managing citations, and curating your online presence for accuracy and findability by reviewers and grantors.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Innovation and Entrepreneurship at WPI focuses on helping innovative ideas turn into reality through seed funding, mentoring, workshops, and networking programs. We teach the basics of entrepreneurial mindset, support the development of ideas, and guide entrepreneurs through foundational skill-building techniques that will result in making an impact for the greater good.